Baltimore

Baltimore, Ireland for some reason prides itself on having the same name as Baltimore, USA. There's a plaque in Baltimore's main (only?) pub that goes on and on about the link between the two places. Of course Baltimore, Ireland has a population in the three digits. The pub there is great, and has a couple of small rooms off the main pub where groups can enjoy time together. I sang "Fairytale of New York" on the evening of January 1, 2000 there with a bunch of people from Dublin. Also, the clam chowder there is incredible, probably because you can basically step outside the bar, walk 30 steps, stick your hand into the water, and pull up clams.

I stole a pint glass from that pub, but felt bad about it and went back and gave the barkeep five punt. I still have the glass, which features the name of the pub, but I can't remember what it is =).

Baltimore (full name Baltimore Technologies) is the name of a Dublin, Ireland-based technology company specialising in 'e-security' solutions. Listed on the NASDAQ (BALT) and London Stock Exchange (BLM), in 1999 it raised $170m cash. The next year saw a series of acquisitions, and involvment in popular security applications such as MIMEsweeper. Customers included Citibank, Intel, Mastercard, and VISA International.

Once listed in the FTSE-100 index of top-performing shares in London, Baltimore's share price has plummeted from a high of more than £10 to around 17p in mid-2001. The recent resignation of its CEO and talks of a takeover have ensured that Baltimore has remained in the media spotlight recently.

It is unclear how George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, came to take the name of this tiny, remote place as part of his title. There is really no evidence to associate any Calvert with Cork; Calvert lands in Ireland were in Counties Longford and Wexford. Since Calvert was given the title in 1625 when he resigned from the Privy Council in protest of anti-Catholic legislation being considered by Parliament, I once thought that this was a joke on his part, or at his expense. However, now, it appears that he derived his title from the name of his estate near Cloonageeher in County Longford. So, it may be that Charm City and the tiny fishing village in County Cork have the same name entirely by coincidence.

Update, 1/27/2003: ReiToei says "Baltimore is made up from three words, baile, tigh, mor, meaning town, house, big, or 'Town of the Big House'". But I've also heard theories that the first syllable comes from Baal meaning a place of idol-worshipers.